Triathlete Michael Hennessey Completes 15th Ironman Competition

TEMPE, Ariz., Nov. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael Hennessey completed his 15h Ironman competition in a calendar year, passing the current Guinness World Record. His journey to break the current record of 14 competitions in a year began on February 23, 2008 in Malaysia where, unfortunately, he did not finish due to various complications. Undaunted, determined to fight for those he races for, Michael pushed forward to race in and finish Ironmans across the globe.

Michael uses his zeal for triathlon and races to help others. It started back in 1984 doing the Hawaiian Ironman at the age of 18 for the hungry of Kansas City. It continued over the years with other events. In Jan., 2007 he and his wife founded Ironman for Kids. The mission statement for their organization is straightforward and simple: To create much needed awareness, education, and support for the chromosomal disorders Trisomy 13 and 18 through the racing of an extreme amount of Ironmans around the world.

To donate to Ironman for Kids or for more information: http://www.Ironmanforkids.com.

WHAT IS TRISOMY:

A trisomy is a chromosomal anomaly that is characterized by the presence of an extra chromosome in the cells of a person's body. Under normal circumstances every human has 46 chromosomes in each cell (23 from the father, 23 from the mother).

    A trisomy occurs when there are 47 chromosomes instead of 46.
    Trisomy can occur with any of the chromosomes. Most common conditions are:
    Trisomy 21(Down Syndrome)
    Trisomy 13(Patau's Syndrome)
    Trisomy 18(Edward's Syndrome)
    Trisomy 13 and 18 have medical conditions that can be life threatening.

Michael Hennessey's thoughts on the year and achievements:

"Just being a regular family guy and traveling the globe doing 16 Ironmans for needy babies was beyond our wildest dreams. Without my wife, who shares the same passions for these awesome kids, I could never have made it.

"We could not have known in 2007, when we decided to embark on the world's record and start our foundation, that 2008 would be such a challenging year financially. We trusted in ourselves, our faith. With the incredible encouragement from the wonderful, inspirational families of children and babies we've been racing for, we have achieved our wildest (and craziest!) goal. It has been very humbling and rewarding as a family and personally to race and know them and their courage. The families thank us for making their voices heard, and honoring their children, but it is us who thank them for the witness they are in our lives and countless others.

"I've raced in some pretty amazing places, but nothing compares to the sheer love and joy that exudes from these Trisomy children. They instantly fill your heart. Being able to be a beacon for some wonderful support organizations out there and help them educate society is the very least we could do."

Race Schedule 2008

For Michael Hennessey's complete race schedule in his quest to earn the Guinness Record for "Most number of Ironman races completed within a year" visit: http://www.ironmanforkids.com.

SOURCE Michael Hennessey

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